November 14, 2015, 05:00 AM By Nathan Mollat, Daily Journal
Having a plan is one thing. Executing it is another — especially on the football field.
Aragon knew what it was in for when the Dons traveled to Hillsdale for the annual “Battle of the Fleas” game Friday night. The Dons’ goal was limit to Hillsdale running back Cameron Taylor.
They failed.
Taylor tore up the Aragon defense to the tune of 301 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. But Taylor was far from alone. The Knights turned in yet another overall dominant team performance as they beat Aragon for the second time in a row, 45-22.
“We committed to stopping [Taylor],” Aragon coach Steve Sell said. “The only way we had a chance was to put as many guys in there (the box) as we could.
“I told him Bay, Ocean or Lake, he’s as good, if not the best, we’ve played against. He might be the most complete football player we’ve faced this season, on both sides of the ball.”
Taylor was far from a one-man show, however. Nate Rosas added 50 yards rushing and two scores and quarterback Brett Wetteland scored on a 30-yard bootleg as well. All told, Hillsdale rushed for 381 yards.
“Our offensive line is playing very well,” said Hillsdale coach Mike Parodi. “Our run game was really clicking.”
The Knights’ passing game was far from clicking on this night, however. Hillsdale completed just 4 of 10 passing for 64 yards and did not attempt a pass in the second half.
But the biggest play of the game might have come in the passing game. Hillsdale blocked its second Aragon field-goal attempt of the first half and recovered it at the Dons’ 40 with just over a second to play in the second quarter.
Instead of just taking a knee, Parodi decided to take a shot — and it wasn’t what anyone was expecting. Wetteland took the snap and pitched the ball to Ben Frame — who also happens to be the Knights’ backup quarterback.
After taking a few steps, Frame pulled up and heaved the ball downfield to Isaiah Cozzolino, who not only pulled in the pass at the 10, but eluded two Aragon defenders and went into the end zone for the score. The extra point gave Hillsdale a 21-15 lead at halftime.
“We were kind of sputtering in the first (half),” Parodi said. “We were just missing. That touchdown just before half sparked us.”
The play turned out to be a huge turning point because the Knights received the second-half kickoff and scored and after forcing Aragon to punt, scored again.
All in all, Hillsdale scored three touchdown on three plays that bridged the second and third quarter. After Cozzolino’s score on the final play of the second quarter, the Knights scored on their first play in the third when Taylor, who rushed for 169 yards by halftime, took a handoff off right tackle and bolted 75 yards for a 28-15 Hillsdale lead.
The Knights got the ball back following an Aragon punt, with Rosas returning it 29 yards to the Dons’ 21. On the next play, Rosas finished what he started, taking a handoff off left tackle and going into the end zone for a 35-15 Hillsdale advantage.
Hillsdale thwarted Aragon’s next possession when Austin Mah picked off a pass at his own 10 and returned it to midfield. Hillsdale embarked on a eight-play, 50-yard drive that culminated with a Josh Janakes 27-yard field.
After another Aragon punt, the Knights needed five plays to go 61 yards. The drive was capped by a fake handoff to the left by Wetteland, who pulled the ball down and went left for a 30-yard touchdown to give the Knights a 45-15 lead with about nine minutes to play.
The Dons finally put together a second-half drive and got a glimpse of the future in freshman running back Camron Grant, who carried the ball five times for 34 yards. The Dons capped the drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Tanner Nguyen to Enzo Fuenzalida with 2:32 to play.
“In the first half, we hung right with them. In the second half, we just couldn’t do anything,” Sell said. “[Hillsdale is] very good. … We would have had to play a perfect game (to beat the Knights).”
Sell lamented his team’s missed opportunities in the first half. The Dons got into the red zone three times in the first half and came up empty each time. Despite racking up 324 yards of offense, the Dons managed just 15 points in the first two quarters. After Hillsdale marched down the field for a 10-yard Rosas touchdown for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, Aragon got on the scoreboard thanks to a 35-yard field goal from Dakota Severson.
After the Aragon defense forced Hillsdale to turn the ball over on downs, the Dons went on to take their first lead of the game when Nguyen handed the ball off to Gabe Campos, who then pitched the ball to receiver Devin Grant on the reverse.
Grant did the rest. After initially bobbling the ball, he ran back along the line scrimmage, turned the corner and raced down the left sideline for a 72-yard touchdown and a 9-7 Aragon lead.
Grant had another huge game receiving for the Dons. He pulled down seven passes for 120 yards.
It was short-lived lead, however, as the Knights responded with an 80-yard drive, with Taylor going the final 65 on a handoff up the middle to give Hillsdale a 14-9 lead. Following a blocked field goal attempt and a punt from Hillsdale, the Dons got the ball back and needed just three plays to go 57 yards, with Donaven Robinson capping the drive with a 25-yard touchdown run to give Aragon a 15-14 lead.
That simply set up the crazy end to the first half.
“I think our kids executed exactly the way we wanted them to,” Parodi said. “I thought our kids played outstanding.”
